


Jimmy takes Willow to Fair Isle

by kakapolover



Category: Shetland - Ann Cleeves
Genre: Closure, F/M, Loss, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:15:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23493058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kakapolover/pseuds/kakapolover
Summary: Jimmy and Willow's story after the end of Book 8 - Wild Fire by Ann CleevesPlease note this is based on the Shetland books, not the TV show. Spoiler warning if you haven't finished reading the series.
Relationships: Jimmy Perez/Willow Reeves
Comments: 9
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Writing is my way to reconnect with my favourite characters and keep them with me for a little bit longer, and on my terms. Hope you like it.

Jimmy Perez felt light as he looked down on the jetty in front of him. Willow’s hand in his, his father James behind him, his mother waiting for them to get off. It was a warm summer’s day, the blue sky dotted with fluffs of cloud, and unusually still.  
His stomach was queasy as he stepped off the jetty, slowing down to let Willow follow behind him without letting go of her hand. She’d probably resent that he was helping her off like a little old lady, but that wasn’t the reason for his clutching her hand.  
It was the ridiculous notion that if he let go of her now all of this would turn out to be a dream. That he hadn’t just dumped his guilt and indecision of the last few years overboard between the Mainland and Fair Isle, that he hadn’t just told Willow that he and Cassie would follow her to her new position in Orkney, to be a part of her and their unborn baby’s life.  
He clutched her hand and she glanced over to him, her wild fair hair blowing across her face, her eyes glinting in the afternoon sun, and smiled.  
“Are you ready for this?” he quietly asked, only a few metres away from Mary, his mother, who was staring at Jimmy and the strange woman beside him.  
“Of course, Jimmy,” she said with a brief smile, squeezing his hand.  
This time around, Jimmy didn’t feel any anxiety about the woman of his dreams meeting his parents. When he’d brought Fran here, he’d fretted how she’d cope with the confines of the small croft house, the intense scrutiny of her parents, their sometimes limited world view. She had been everything they weren’t: well-spoken in a worldly sort of way, confident, liberal.  
But Willow had grown up in a remote community on an island just like Jimmy. Even if her English parents had been academics who’d set up a hippie commune in the Hebrides, nothing like Jimmy’s family who’d been crofters and skippers of the Good Shepherd for generations. Willow’s upbringing would have been similar to his due to the remoteness of the location and the life ruled by seasons and the weather.  
Jimmy dropped the bags on the ground when they reached Mary. Without letting go of Willow’s hand, he introduced her.  
“Mum, this is Willow. Willow Reeves.”  
Mary Perez’ face lit up as if Christmas had come early.  
“Welcome to Fair Isle,” she said. “Lovely to meet you, Willow.”  
To his surprise, his mum leaned forward to peck Willow on the cheek.  
“It’s great to finally see where Jimmy’s from,” Willow said as she smiled at both Mary and Big James who had joined them from the Good Shepherd, the mail boat. His mother was startled by how tall she was, Jimmy could tell, because she had to lift her eyes and tilt her head to look up into Willow’s eyes.  
“I hope your trip wasn’t too rough,” Mary said, referring to the time when Jimmy had brought Fran to Fair Isle. When she had got off the plane, she had been white as a ghost, terrified by the bumpy ride and the landing approach to the airstrip. The experience made her draw up a will, half-jokingly, in one of her sketch pads while staying in Fair Isle, bequeathing her daughter Cassie to Jimmy Perez in the event of her untimely death.  
Willow smiled again, pulling Jimmy out of his thoughts. “It was very pleasant, thank you.” She wasn’t talking about the swell or the wind, he was sure of it, but about the way they had connected with each other on the way over.  
There was a brief moment of silence, only interrupted by the screeching of gulls and the lapping of the sea against the jetty. Mary leaned forward to greet her son with a kiss on the cheek.  
“Jimmy,” she said, fixing him with bright eyes. “It’s lovely to see you.” She already had a dozen questions about Willow, he knew, and she was bursting to find the right moment to ask them.  
He smiled at her before turning to Willow and his father. Mary kept her eyes on Willow, studying her baggy sweater, her frayed jeans and the wild hair. James had already had time to get used to Willow’s unconventional appearance since he’d been on the ride over from Grutness, and the fact that she looked nothing like a chief inspector of the Highlands and Islands police.  
A sudden breeze picked up and blew Willow’s hair into her face. She pushed it away, then turned to look back at the Good Shepherd. Jimmy thought she was going to comment on the boat, but instead she briefly glanced at him and smiled.  
“Let’s get you home,” Mary said, ushering Willow away towards the white van parked nearby, and Jimmy reluctantly let go of her hand, and picked up their bags.

***

Willow Reeves looked around the small tidy lounge, the kitchen with the Rayburn, the water colour paintings which bore Mary Perez’ signature.  
“I love your paintings,” Willow said as she inched up closer to one in particular - a typical Shetland scene, she thought, of barren hills, craggy rocks and flocks of sheep.  
“Thank you,” Mary said, pleased that Willow had noticed them. The lounge had a homely, if somewhat cramped feeling. A two-seater sofa and a single seat were facing each other, a solid wood coffee table in between. A wooden display cabinet with crystal glasses stood against a wall, two wide drawers with metal knobs underneath giving it a rather clunky appearance. Across the other side of the room there was another painting on the wall. This one was done in oil. A wild stormy sea, angry clouds, the spray of the surf and a pebbled beach, all skillfully painted in many detailed layers.  
Mary followed Willow’s look across the small lounge, her eyes settling on the beautiful painting that didn’t quite fit into this quaint country-look lounge.  
“That’s one of Fran’s,” Mary said quickly, averting her eyes. “Jimmy gave it to us after Fran died.”  
“It’s gorgeous,” Willow said, keen to ease Mary’s discomfort. It wasn’t his mother’s fault that he had held onto Fran’s memory for so long. Willow didn’t want it to become an issue between them.  
“How long have you known Jimmy?” Mary asked as she pulled the kettle over the hotplate on the Rayburn.  
And I thought that at least I’d be sitting down with a cup of tea in my hand before the inquisition began. But Jimmy and Big James would come in soon from their quick tour around the croft and the new sheep yards that James wanted to show off. Mary must have decided to get in quickly before their return.  
“Three years,” Willow said. She could see Mary’s thoughts ticking over, counting back years, Jimmy’s life divided into before and after Fran’s death. “We’ve worked together on a number of murder investigations.”  
Mary fetched cups with delicate painted flowers from the cupboard, a matching teapot and jug for the milk. Pouring milk from a glass bottle into the jug, she glanced at Willow, opened her mouth, then changed her mind about what she was going to say.  
“Have a seat, Willow,” she gestured, suddenly aware that Willow had been standing all this time. She sat down in a seat beside a glass cabinet, grateful for the baggy sweater she was wearing. Her pregnancy was starting to show, but she'd prefer if Jimmy told them instead of his mother figuring it out herself.  
Mary poured boiling water into the teapot and covered it with a hand-knitted tea-cosy. She arranged home-baked biscuits on a plate and put it down on the coffee table in the small lounge.  
“Were you part of the team investigating Fran’s...,” she started, then stopped, looking down on her hands before lifting her eyes up to Fran's painting, “her murder?”  
Mary reached for the teapot and nearly knocked over the jug of milk.  
The woman looked so tense Willow felt sorry for her. The tragedy of Fran’s murder and her son’s grief had impacted on his mother beyond anything Willow had imagined. She felt a little guilty for every impatient thought she’d had over the years when his grief had made him almost unbearable to be around, at times. Mary steadied her hand, then poured the tea.  
“No, I came on board when Jimmy was on stress leave,” she said, making her voice sound easy and light. “He was coming back into work a couple of days a week. It was my first investigation in Shetland and I was very grateful for his expertise and local knowledge.” She didn’t add that his broodiness, sudden mood changes and the tendency to go off on his own tangent during the investigation into Jerry Markham's death had driven her to distraction sometimes.  
Mary’s face relaxed a little, relieved that Willow was comfortable talking about this subject.  
“But you know what happened?” Mary asked.  
The heat in the small room was getting stifling. Willow pushed the sleeves of her sweater back to expose her arms.  
“Everybody in the Highlands and Islands police knew what had happened.”  
For a moment Willow had the urge to discuss Jimmy’s almost compulsive need for privacy. She wanted to know if he’d ever opened up to his mother about his feelings of guilt, his grief. But Jimmy would be furious if she pried into his private life behind his back. She helped herself to a biscuit, took a bite, then sipped her tea.  
“I’m glad he met you,” Mary said. “He’s been brooding over Fran’s death for too long. James and I have been worried about him.”  
Willow put her hand on her stomach, feeling the growing bump under her sweater, smiling.  
“I’m glad I met him, too.”  
She looked around the cramped space and hoped that Jimmy would come back inside soon, or she’d run out of topics to talk about with Mary.  
“And where is home for you, Willow?” Mary asked.  
“I grew up in the Hebrides, but now I live in Inverness.”  
“And so you’ve come up just for the weekend?”  
Willow smiled. “Just for the weekend to meet you and James and see where Jimmy grew up.” She thought about the look Jimmy got in his eyes every time he mentioned Fair Isle, the excitement in his voice when he talked about his home. “I’ve heard a lot about Fair Isle, but this is my first visit here.”  
Mary sat up just a little taller, beaming at her across the small table.  
“He grew up here, right in this house. He helped a lot around the croft when he lived here.” Mary paused, reveling in memories of days gone past when she had her son around her all the time. Willow wondered if Jimmy had ever rebelled against his parents. She didn’t think he had, unlike her. “We’re all very proud of him, of course,” Mary continued. “Who would have thought our Jimmy-lad, a detective!”  
She pushed off her chair and walked over to the cabinet, pulled a photo out of the top drawer and returned to the coffee table.  
“That’s him, helping his dad clip the sheep.”  
Willow held the photo up to her eyes. There was Jimmy in his pre-teens, tall for his age, he seemed, and skinny legs with knobbly knees poking out of brown shorts. His hair was dark and untidy even then, and he looked very serious.  
She wondered what he’d been like as a boy. Had he been quiet, pensive even then? Had anybody recognised his sharp mind, his intense curiosity with people and their lives, or had he just blended in, unnoticed? It would have been near impossible to blend in with his mediterranean looks in a place like this.  
Willow let her mind wander, picturing the baby growing inside of her. Would he or she be dark and olive-skinned like Jimmy or blond and fair with freckles like her?  
A noise came from the entry, a door shut, the sound of heavy boots on the wooden floor, then Jimmy’s face.  
“There you are!” he said as he entered the kitchen in his socks, a look of relief on his face, James right behind him. Jimmy looked down on his mother, then rested his eyes on Willow, rewarding her with one of his rare smiles that made her stomach flip.  
I’ve hardly seen him smile in the last few weeks, Willow thought. She’d come up from Inverness to lead the investigation of the murders of two women in Deltaness. Her hopes of Jimmy’s rejoicing in the news of her pregnancy were quickly quashed by his crass reaction. They’d been unable to communicate without shooting barbs of aggression at each other. Every encounter between them had been tense, lacking the usual camaraderie and banter of previous investigations.  
Now that they had finally had a talk on the journey over, Willow would make it her mission to see more of Jimmy’s smile.  
The men joined Mary and Willow around the coffee table, sipping tea and eating biscuits, discussing the price of sheep and wool, commenting on the unusual stretch of good weather in the past week. Willow wondered how much longer they would be expected to sit here and make conversation before they could politely retreat to their room.  
Jimmy hadn’t managed to get accommodation on the Isle due to a large hemfaring party taking place. All B&Bs and private rooms were booked out. So they would stay with his parents and Willow would sleep in Jimmy’s old room. It was refurbished, he’d said, with a queen-sized bed, and it looked nothing like the room he’d had a boy. She hoped he would be sleeping in the same bed as her, but there would be plenty of time to work this out.  
“So, Jimmy tells me that you’re his boss?” James said with a mischievous grin in his eyes as he reached for another biscuit.  
Mary looked at Jimmy in surprise, then at Willow. “You didn’t tell me that!” she said accusingly at first, then relaxed into a smile. “Oh, Jimmy. Why am I not surprised?”  
Whatever private joke she was making Willow didn’t understand and Jimmy didn’t explain, but looked rather embarrassed about his mother’s comment.  
“Yes, I am his boss, for now,” she said, glancing over to Jimmy. They hadn’t discussed how or when to announce their pregnancy or what their plans for the future were.  
But before she could think any further about it, Jimmy spoke.  
“Willow won’t be my boss for much longer.”  
Mary’s face lit up. “Oh, will you be moving in with Jimmy and Cassie then?” she asked, directing the question at Willow, already delighted with this idea.  
Jimmy shook his head.  
“No, Willow has a new job in Kirkwall. I’m moving to Orkney.” There was a stunned silence in the small lounge and for a moment Willow thought that all oxygen had been sucked out of the room. She fought the urge to get up and run out of the house.  
“What about Cassie?” Mary asked.  
“Cassie is coming with me, of course. Duncan’s moving away to Spain in a few weeks.”  
Willow was glad that he’d spoken out, or else she might have made a comment about Mary’s irritating assumption that Willow would just up and leave everything behind for Jimmy.  
Jimmy’s infamous patience was stretched thin, Willow thought. He’s no different than anybody else when it came to dealing with his own parents. 

***

Jimmy had wanted to wait before he announced their plans, but the conversation had led to the topic and it would have been wrong not to mention their plans now. James was looking at him with a stern look, but he didn’t say anything.  
“Isn’t that a bit much for Cassie?” It was his mother who said what both of them were thinking. “I mean, if Duncan’s moving away, that’s already a big change for her. And then moving her away from Shetland?”  
Trust his mother to advocate for Cassie now, Jimmy thought, when she’d been the one who had suggested burning Fran’s letter in the sketch book, erase all traces of her bequeathing Cassie to him before anyone else knew.  
“Nobody need ever know. It’s a big ask to raise another man’s child,” she’d said a few days after Fran’s death when Jimmy had returned to Fair Isle on his father’s request after they’d found the sketch book.  
But Jimmy had had no choice. It was his reparation to make right what had been his fault for bringing Fran to Fair Isle in the first place, for involving her in a murder investigation that got her killed. It had been his duty to Fran and Cassie, and even though he hadn’t wanted to take on the responsibility, didn’t think he deserved it, drowning in grief, self-pity and guilt, it was what had given his life a purpose. Without Cassie, he thought, he wouldn’t have survived the years after Fran’s murder.  
“Cassie will be fine,” Jimmy said, and he knew that she would be. Of course she would take some time getting used to the idea of moving away from Ravenswick, her friends and school. But she was an independent and adaptable child.  
“Besides, Cassie won’t be by herself for long.”  
Jimmy reached for Willow’s hand and looked at her bright eyes, her tousled hair, the freckles on her nose, and smiled.  
“We’re expecting a baby. Willow and I, we’re going to be parents,” he said.  
Mary took a moment to understand, then her face lit up in delight.  
“Oh, Jimmy,” she said and came over to embrace him in a tight hug. “That is wonderful news.” She turned to Willow and hugged her too.  
“Congratulations, Willow.”  
Jimmy glanced at his father who, for just a moment, frowned.  
Don’t you dare say anything about having a baby out of wedlock. Don’t you dare bring in your outdated morals into this. Not after showing what a hypocrite you were back then when you betrayed Mum with Angela, the scientist at the Fair Isle bird observatory while preaching about self-control in the local kirk.  
James must have seen the dark look in Jimmy’s eyes because he reached over to him, took his hand and shook it.  
“Congratulations, son,” he said, gripping his hand in a crush.  
Mary stood, unable to sit after this exciting news. Pacing up and down the lounge, she asked, “Have you told Cassie yet?”  
Willow shook her head. “We haven’t told anyone else.”  
“What about your parents?” Mary asked.  
Willow glanced over to Jimmy. “That’ll be the next trip, I think.”  
Mary came over to stand beside Jimmy, still fidgeting. She put her hand on his shoulder.  
“When is the baby due?” Mary wanted to know.  
“October,” Willow said.  
Mary seemed to have forgotten her concerns for Cassie. “Cassie will make a wonderful sister to a wee baby.”

***

Jimmy carried Willow’s bag upstairs and put it down in front of the bed. Willow followed him, took in the bright room, the colourful bedspread and curtains.  
She sat down on the bed, glad to have escaped the constraints of the downstairs lounge.  
“My folk can be a bit intense, I'm sorry,” Jimmy said as he sat down on a chair in the corner, looking at Willow.  
“Your parents are lovely. Wait ‘til you meet mine!” She laughed. “They’ll question how you can be part of an authoritarian, patriarchal organisation that marginalises people who are already on the fringes of society.” She’d become a cop partly to rebel against her parents and a small part of her believed that they still hadn’t quite forgiven her for it.  
“Will they now?” Jimmy said, leaning into his elbows which were resting on his knees, his dark eyes on her, a playful smirk on his face.  
She returned his look. “Actually, I can just see you silence them with your charm,” she said, thinking about Jimmy’s kindness and patience, his ability to put anyone at ease. “I can just about picture Mum falling for you, if she were a little younger.”  
His presence so close in the room confused her. This is what she had been dreaming of for the past year and now it was happening, quickly and without any warning, she was overwhelmed.  
She had spent the last four months telling herself that she didn’t need Jimmy Perez in her life, that she was perfectly fine to bring up his child on her own. Looking at him, she wondered how she could have ever considered a life without him.  
He looked at her from under his fringe, pulling her out of her thoughts, his voice so quiet she could hardly hear him.  
“When did you fall for me?” he asked.  
She considered the question, not sure exactly when her attraction had become more than just a fondness for the colleague with the sharp mind and the lost lover.  
“At the end of the Markham murder inquiry. Before I returned to Inverness.”  
Jimmy looked surprised.  
“Really? I can’t believe you saw past my broodiness, my mood-swings and anger.”  
Outside, a gust of wind rattled on the shutters. Willow feared that they’d miss out on a walk if they didn’t leave soon.  
“Maybe falling isn't the right word,” Willow said with a smile. “But there were enough moments in between when I saw you for who you are.”  
He didn’t push her but sat silently, doing what he did best - waiting. She’d seen it a dozen times during interviews with witnesses, suspects, victims. People felt compelled to fill his silences, to open up to this quiet man with his dark looks and untidy hair. They couldn’t not talk and now, she fell victim to this quality, too.  
“You’re one of the kindest people I’ve ever met,” she said. “ You’re sharp. You have this uncanny ability to be whoever you need to be in your job in order to make people comfortable enough to confide in you.”  
Jimmy smiled, then walked over to the window and opened it. Fresh air streamed into the small bedroom.  
“I’m sorry I didn’t confide. Like I said on the boat, I’m sorry for not being there for you.”  
He looked so serious she wanted to get up and wrap her arms around him, but this was all so new she didn’t know their rules of engagement yet. Was he really hers now that they’d had ‘the talk’?  
“It’s fine, Jimmy. I’m glad we’ve worked it out.” She pushed up from the bed and walked over to the window to look down on the vegetable garden surrounded by a stone wall and the fields in the background.  
“Can you show me around the Isle?” she asked, suddenly itching to get out into the fresh air, to stretch her limbs and spend time with Jimmy away from Springfield.  
“Sure,” he said and joined her at the window. “See there,” he said, pointing at a derelict croft in the distance. “That’s where I spent a lot of time as a child, playing and exploring.”  
He was so close she could smell the soap he’d used in the morning. His hair fell loosely over his ears down to the collar of his shirt. Willow lifted her hand in an impulse to touch it but then retracted and took his hand.  
“Let’s go,” she said.

***

They walked across the Springfield paddocks, past a flock of ewes with fat lambs at foot, into a soft breeze that came off the coast. Unusually warm weather had followed a week of rain, James had said, and now the pasture had exploded into a lush green that almost looked unnatural in the bright afternoon sun.  
Willow was silent, stopping every now and then to look at the surrounding scenery, shielding her eyes against the sun. Her blonde hair was swirling around her head whenever the breeze picked up and Jimmy thought in the short time they’d been out in the sun, the amount of freckles on the bridge of her nose had doubled.  
That was probably not true, but this was the first time in four months that Jimmy allowed himself to study Willow properly. To look into her eyes and not avert his gaze, but take joy in her presence and the knowledge that she was here, with him. She stopped in front of a stile to cross a stonewall and turned to face him.  
“It’s beautiful,” she said, lifting her arms to include Sheep Craig in the distance and the lighthouse nearby. In the distance he heard bleating ewes and the crying of lambs for their mothers.  
The Isle suited her, Jimmy thought. All she needed was a hand-knitted Fair Isle jersey.  
“Do we go across?” she asked, pointing at the wooden construction over the stonewall.  
Jimmy nodded and she lifted her leg to reach the first step and pushed up. At the top of the stile, she stopped, straddling the stonewall, and looked across to the cliffs nearby.  
“What a view!”  
Jimmy came up behind her, close enough for Willow’s hair to brush his face, just like it had accidentally brushed his face three years earlier on the first day he’d met her.  
Back then, the unexpected touch, the sudden lust had been so shocking it had felt like a betrayal so soon after Fran’s death. Despite the confusion and anger he felt that day, it didn’t take long for him to trust Willow. Her tactful way of including him in her first murder investigation in Shetland had helped him out of his depression.  
Crashing waves and the screeching of seagulls could be heard all around them. Jimmy pushed Willow’s hair down gently, then lifted his hand onto her shoulder and pulled her in.  
He thought of Cassie and how he’d tell her about Willow and the baby. Suddenly he couldn’t wait to tell her, to see her face when she heard that she would be a big sister to a baby. After Fran, Jimmy was convinced he’d never feel anything like this. He didn’t deserve to be happy, he'd thought. He didn’t deserve another chance at happiness or love. After Fran, no other woman had moved him. Until Willow came along.  
“I’m glad I came,” she said into the breeze, turning her head slightly towards him.  
“Me too,” he said, pulling her in closer and thinking that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so happy.  
This is the woman I love, he thought. He wanted to tell her how glad he was, how much in love with her and their unborn child. But he couldn’t find the right words so he quietly repeated, “Me too.”

***

On their return from the walk, Jimmy stayed outside to help his father shift a mob of hoggets. Willow made her way into the house, through the kitchen, expecting to see Mary busy with her art or her craft. But she was nowhere to be seen and the house was still. Willow made her way upstairs to Jimmy’s room and stood in the middle of it, suddenly overcome by a tiredness she’d thought she’d shaken off after the first three months of her pregnancy. She stepped up to the window and opened it to let the fresh breeze in.  
Maybe the calmness she’d felt outside with Jimmy by her side had masked the enormity of emotions she was feeling about the events that had unfolded a few hours ago.  
She’d accepted Jimmy’s invitation to join him on his visit to his parents on Fair Isle without any second thoughts. She’d long moved on from the hurt he’d caused when she told him about her unexpected pregnancy, the result of one night spent with Jimmy in his Ravenswick home, Fran’s house, where he lived with Cassie.  
“I won’t make any demands of you, Jimmy,” she had said even though in her wildest dreams she’d hoped that he would share her joy and ask her to marry him.  
But he had been so distant and cold that she thought she would be better off without him. Even when he picked her up from the airport and took her to board the Good Shepherd, she didn’t think that they could be anything more than friends.  
Willow took her jeans off, pulled the duvet cover off the bed and lay down on the crisp sheet, closing her eyes. She put one hand over her stomach and fell asleep.

***

“It smells lovely in here,” Jimmy said to Mary when he came into the kitchen, looking forward to sharing a dram with his father and catching up on the island gossip.  
He reached for the malt whisky in the cabinet and poured three glasses, knowing that his mother appreciated the rare occasion to share a drink with  
Jimmy. She sat down in her favourite seat, took a deep breath and smiled at him. He could see that she was dying to grill him about Willow, to know all the details about how they got together. But she was holding back, hoping that he would offer some details without her asking.  
In the end, Jimmy couldn’t wait any longer. He could outlast any witness, hardened criminals, dodgy suspects with his legendary silence, but not his mother. She was the one who could always crack his patience.  
“I’ve been an oaf with Willow,” he offered before he lifted his glass to her.  
Mary studied him, took a sip herself, then waited. He’d always thought his patience and ease with silence came from her, not his father who could be impulsive and impatient.  
“But I’ve worked it out now. And I’m lucky it’s not too late. She hasn’t given up on me.” He gave Mary a smile, then emptied the dram with one sip.  
“Oh, Jimmy. You’ve no idea how happy I am to see you happy. And to expect our first grandchild!”  
She blinked away a few tears, then smiled back at him.  
“I’m glad that you’ve worked it out. Willow seems like a wonderful woman.”  
He nodded his head, then spotted his father come in through the door, pulling his woolen vest over his head.  
“She’s stronger than anyone I’ve ever met,” Jimmy said. “And sharp. The best detective I’ve ever worked with.”  
James joined them, reached for the dram and lifted it up in a salute.  
“To you and Willow,” he said.  
Jimmy poured himself another dram and topped up his mother’s.  
“And to the baby,” Mary said.  
The whisky trickled down Jimmy’s throat, warming him from the inside. He stood, kissed his mother on the head, embraced his father in a brief hug, then made his way upstairs.

***

Willow woke up to feel Jimmy’s eyes on her. Lying on her side, she could feel his presence without opening her eyes. She relished in the knowledge that he was here for a little longer, pictured him looking at her small bulge that her t-shirt barely covered. She imagined his hand on her belly, the baby moving, their eyes connecting.  
She smiled to herself, then opened her eyes.  
“What are you so happy about?” Jimmy asked, sitting very still at the small desk in the room.  
Willow blushed. She never used to indulge in sentimental thoughts, was always level-headed and pragmatic when it came to relationships with men.  
But Jimmy Perez had got under her skin, and the hormones raging through her body were undefeatable, turning her into a soppy woman most of the time.  
“I was thinking how happy I am to be here.” With you, she added in her head, but didn’t say it.  
Jimmy gave her one of his smiles that made her stomach flip, then he took the few steps to stand beside the bed. Willow shuffled over to make room for him but he crouched down low instead so that he was eye-to-eye with her. Willow looked into his dark eyes, thinking that they’d softened since she’d last seen him, as if they’d lost a protective shield and now she could see what he was really feeling. She uncurled her arm from under her body and reached for his face, running her hand over his cheek, pushing the hair that was always a bit too long out of his eyes.  
“I’ve been wanting to do this for months,” she whispered, not breaking eye-contact. His presence, his words, all of this was still so new she was terrified to find out that it had been a dream, and so she didn’t want to miss a second to look at him.  
Jimmy leaned his cheek against her hand and closed his eyes. There were fine lines on his forehead and a shadow of stubble on his chin.  
Willow had a sudden vision of escaping the confines of the house and the Isle with him, of staying in a cottage on the mainland coast with views of the sea and the cliffs, and the sound of the surf and the wind drifting through the open window. They’d sit on the deck outside in the simmerdim, Jimmy drinking a whisky, Willow a cup of herbal tea, talking in quiet voices about the past and the future, and Jimmy would empty the dram, he’d get up and reach for her hand and take her to bed with views of the ocean and he’d make love to her, the bump of their baby between them.  
Jimmy opened his eyes and shifted on his knees, then leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. She wanted to pull him in, to kiss him properly on the lips, but before she knew it, he’d sat up beside her on the bed, looking down on her. Once upon a time she would have felt uncomfortable, vulnerable when a man would look at her like that, but now she wanted nothing more than for him to see her. To see her as a woman, not a detective, not a colleague, but his lover, and the mother of his unborn child.  
“Can I?” he asked, lifting his hand in hesitation, then glancing down on her baby bump.  
“Of course,” she said, moved that he’d asked, not just assumed that it would be okay. Of course it would have been okay without explicit permission, but she loved him for asking first. That was the kind of man he was.  
He gently pushed her t-shirt up, then put his hand on her bump. The touch sent a jolt through to Willow, but Jimmy was in a daze, not registering what his touch did to her nerves.  
She was burning up inside, giddy and excitable, but this couldn’t be rushed. She’d had months to get used to the feeling of a life growing inside her, but it was all new to Jimmy. He hadn’t allowed himself to connect with this baby before, had tried to ignore the reality of what had happened after they’d spent one night together during a difficult murder investigation.  
He ran his hand over to the side, then back up across her belly button and down the other side. Lifting his eyes to look up at her, he said, “This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened in my life.”  
Willow smiled.  
“Are you sure you’re up for this?”  
Jimmy’s hand stopped, then tugged on her t-shirt to cover her bump. She felt the loss of his touch as if he’d left and wanted to pull him over to wrap her legs around him just so he couldn’t escape.  
But he picked up her hand and kissed it, then said, “Aye, I am. I am.”  
The air in the bedroom had cooled down. Goosebumps were spreading over her legs. Just when she was tempted to ask Jimmy to join her under the covers, she heard Mary’s voice.  
“Jimmy? Willow? Dinner is ready.”  
He stood and reached for her hand to pull her up.  
“I’ll see you downstairs in a minute?” Jimmy asked as he turned to leave. But Willow didn’t let go of his hand and pulled him back.  
“Jimmy?”  
“Yes?”  
He was close enough for her to feel his breath on her so it didn’t take much to lean forward and kiss him on the lips. Only then she let him go.

***

Dinner was rich and filling just like he remembered from his childhood. His mother’s famous lamb roast, tatties and greens from the garden provided a perfect backdrop to a pleasant evening with snippets of Fair Isle gossip. Mary had prepared a special vegetarian dish with chickpeas, lentils, broad beans and spinach for Willow. It seemed that she liked it very much because she took three helpings while talking about her childhood in the Hebrides.  
They took tea, coffee and apple crumble in the lounge afterwards, followed by a dram and more stories from the Isle.  
According to James, the field centre was busy as usual over the summer months. The coast was teeming with birdlife and the Isle was abuzz with tourists.  
“The B&Bs are all fully booked, of course,” Mary said.  
It occurred to Jimmy only then that he hadn’t finalised sleeping arrangements with Willow. Of course she would sleep in his old bedroom, but would she want him in there with him?  
He hoped she would, but he didn’t want to make assumptions. She might need more time to get used to the idea of him being more than a sperm donor, even though deep down he knew that she’d always wanted him to be more than that.  
She’d told him as much after their night together. Made it clear that she wasn’t usually in the business of sleeping with colleagues.  
Of course, there was always his sister’s old room which served as a sewing and crafts room now. The narrow bed his sister had slept on was still in there. Or he could sleep on the sofa. It would seem odd to his parents, but he didn’t care.  
“Can you take me for a drive around the Isle?” Willow asked, looking uncomfortable on the sofa beside his dad with her long lanky legs stretched out in front of her. Maybe she thought it would be impolite to sit on the floor like she did in Jimmy’s house in Ravenswick. During their long investigations, she and Sandy would often visit, have a bite to eat, then stay late into the night, untangling the strands of an inquiry. Willow had never sat on the sofa there, but always on the floor, looking more comfortable than on a chair, and surprisingly supple when she got up.  
“It’d be good to stretch our legs, maybe go for a little walk.”  
Jimmy would be fine to drive, he thought. He’d only had a small drink and it would be good to get away from Springfield for an hour or two before nighttime. The sun was still up in the sky and the night would barely get dark in the simmerdim.  
“Sure,” Jimmy said, looking for his father’s approval to use the Land Rover. James smiled, put his hand on Willow’s shoulder for the briefest of moments, and said, “Off you go, you two lovebirds.”  
Willow gave him a broad smile, then reached for Jimmy who pulled her up by the hands.  
“See you tomorrow morning, if not earlier,” Jimmy said as they grabbed their coats and boots and left the house.  
In the Land Rover, Jimmy held her hand while they made their way up the farm track onto the narrow road. He pointed out different crofts on the way, naming land owners, mentioning family connections, listing friends that had left the island, or others who had returned.  
When he pulled up in front of the field centre, it didn’t take long for someone to come out. They were visitors, for Jimmy didn’t know them.  
“Nice evening for a walk,” a man with an American accent said. A woman with binoculars around her neck smiled at them.  
“Aye,” Jimmy said, keen to move on to be alone with Willow. She was now the centre of his attention in the short time since they’d been on the boat. He didn’t want to waste time spent with strangers if he could spend it with her.  
“Let’s go,” he said and took Willow’s hand. They crossed fields of heather, a long stretch of pasture that had just been grazed. Side-stepping sheep droppings and small rocks, they walked in silence for a long time. A few times, he glanced over to Willow, but she was concentrating on her steps, one hand covering her stomach.  
He thought how easy it was to be with her. There was no effort, no pretense in being with her. Knowing that she cared for him deeply gave him a sense of ease he hadn’t felt for years.  
They were nearly down to sea level now. A pool stretched out in front of them, surrounded by jagged rocks and the cliff below. Willow’s hand tightened around his as they approached and Jimmy was grateful for the bright sunshine, the salty air and the breeze in his face.

***

Willow recognised the spot from the photos of the inquiry into Fran’s murder. She’d spent hours reading up on the case, on the details leading up to her tragic death, the violent stabbing in the beam of the lighthouse. She’d become a little bit obsessed with the dark detective and his quiet grief, especially since he never talked about what had happened. She’d read the transcript of Sandy’s frantic call for an ambulance flight, Jimmy’s witness statement and the murderer’s feeble attempt at justifying his actions.  
It was a beautiful spot of peace and sunshine now, all traces of Fran’s blood on the rocks long washed off. Even with the knowledge about the case Willow could not picture the devastating events that had unfolded that night.  
She held Jimmy’s hand tighter and glanced over to him. He looked into the horizon, frozen solid for a while, it seemed, until suddenly, he turned to face her and pulled her in very tight. They stood like this for a long time, their hair swirling around them with every breeze.  
“Is this the first time you’ve returned?” she asked, still wrapped in his arms, inhaling the scent of his neck that smelled so familiar, but new and exciting at the same time.  
“Aye,” he said.  
She wondered if he wished she were Fran, then pushed the thought out of her head. That way lay madness. A small part of him would always grieve for her, and that was okay. He gently lifted her chin with his fingers, pressed his cheek against hers and said, “I’m glad you’re here.”  
They looked out to sea, down into the surf and only when they turned to make their way back did Jimmy’s eyes briefly glance at the rocks in front of them.  
By the time they returned to the Land Rover, the sun had disappeared behind the horizon, but it was still light enough to see every rock in front of them. The simmerdim bathed the scenery around them into a glossy postcard that Willow wanted to imprint in her memory so she could take it back home. She was exhausted. The afternoon nap seemed like days ago and she was dying to go to bed.  
“Are you okay?” she asked Jimmy when he looked at her before starting the engine. He looked tired, too, worn out by the wind and the sun and the severity of the decision he made today.  
“Aye.”  
Willow didn’t attempt to make any more conversation. Used to his long silences, she thought that he would talk about Fran one day, when he was ready. And if he didn’t, she would be fine with that too, because she’d understood if he wanted to keep his memories of her to himself.  
At Springfield, Mary and James were in the lounge watching TV. Willow poked her head in briefly.  
“Thank you again for the wonderful meal, Mary. Good night.” She was on her way upstairs when Jimmy called her back.  
“Willow?”  
“Yes?”  
“I can sleep on the sofa if you want to have the bed to yourself,” he said. “I understand if you want to be on your own.”  
She stepped down a couple of stairs and looked down on him.  
“Jimmy Perez,” she said, unable to suppress a smile. She opened her mouth to say that he had haunted her dreams for years, then changed her mind because she didn’t want to appear needy. “That is the last thing I want,” she said instead.  
He was visibly relieved.  
“I’ll make sure I move over to make room for you,” she said, then turned around and left him at the bottom of the stairs.

***

By the time he’d finished another dram with his father, the night was as dark as it would get: a grey diffuse light that was neither day nor night.  
Jimmy stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. The tightness he’d felt near the pool where Fran had died had left him, and now he was light and full of hope. He thought of Cassie who had rung Mary and James when he’d been out with Willow. Tempted to ring her back even though it was past her bedtime, he’d listened to Mary who reassured him that Cassie was fine and that she’d said not to worry about her. She was staying at her friend’s house for the weekend and was having a grand old time.  
Jimmy made his way upstairs in the semi-darkness. He brushed his teeth in the small bathroom and quietly pushed down the door handle to open the bedroom.  
Willow had left the window ajar and the air was chilly. Jimmy turned his phone on silent, quickly undressed and slipped in next to Willow. Loathe to wake her, he lay still beside her, listening to her breathing.  
“I thought you’d chickened out,” she mumbled as she turned to face him. Her long legs immediately wrapped themselves around his.  
“As if I’d even consider it,” he said.  
Her hands were hot on his cool chest, just like her mouth that was searching for his with impatient urgency. She kissed him with an intensity that took his breath away, making him forget that they were in his childhood bedroom under the roof of his parents’ house.  
As he peeled off her clothes he wondered if the baby created this extra heat coming off her. Or was it the summer night and the longing for him that caused it?  
He pressed his body against hers, still kissing her with eyes closed, taking in the heat of her skin, her scent, the hair that was tickling him. Just when he thought that this woman was the most incredible person ever and how could he be so lucky to have met her, the firm bump between them pushed against his stomach, and they both laughed, catching their breath.  
“It’s a bit different now with this one between us,” Willow said. He opened his eyes and looked at her face in the semi-darkness. He could still make out the bright spark in them, her long hair and her wide smile.  
“I think we’ll manage,” he said and pulled her on top of him.

***

Willow woke up, courtesy of the baby that pushed down on her bladder. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept through the night without having to get up to the toilet. Sunlight was already filtering through the open window. Last night, neither Jimmy nor Willow had pulled the curtains and now it felt like mid-morning.  
The spot beside her was empty. In a moment of panic, she thought that Jimmy had left her behind on the Isle and returned to Shetland on his own. His clothes were missing. She pushed up from the bed and made her way to the bathroom.  
There was a chill in the air that reminded her of growing up in Uist, spending her holidays out in the outdoors, sleeping in tents, wandering around in the early hours of the morning to spot birds with her father.  
Back in the bedroom, she slipped a pair of trainers on and went downstairs. A cup of herbal tea sat on the bench, lukewarm, for her, she presumed. She picked it up and stepped outside onto the porch. The sun was already on the horizon, replacing the simmerdim with an orange light that softened the croft’s sharp edges.  
Willow took a sip of her tea, searching the surrounding yard for any sight of Jimmy. The screeching of birds and bleating of lambs filled the air. Willow leaned against the wall of the house and sipped her tea, her arms wrapped around her to keep the chill off. She spotted Jimmy sitting on a stone wall near the vegetable garden with a cup in his hand. He looked up at the same time, stood and made his way across to her in fast strides.  
“I couldn’t sleep,” he said before she even had a chance to ask. “I’ve been up all night.”  
Willow lifted her hand to his face and touched his cheek.  
“Is everything okay?”  
Jimmy smiled. He looked exhausted, but happy.  
“Aye, everything’s okay." He paused and took a sip from his coffee. Willow waited. She was getting better at this, too. "It’s just the simmerdim. You, the baby and…,” he hesitated, looked into her eyes, then continued. “Cassie.”  
Willow smiled. The orange light bathed his face in a warm glow, making his olive skin look lighter than usual. “What about Cassie?”  
“I want to talk to her. Tell her about you and the baby.”  
She took his hand and pulled him closer. "How do you think she'll take it?"  
Jimmy wrapped his arms around her and breathed in deeply. For a while, Willow thought he wouldn't answer. She didn't mind. There was no rush in getting used to any of this. They had all the time in the world.  
"She'll be happy, I'm sure," Jimmy said and gently pushed Willow away from him so he could look into her eyes. "She likes you. And she'll make a great sister."


	2. Chapter 2

Jimmy turned his back into the wind and hunched over, pressing his phone to his ear.  
“Maggie? It’s Jimmy Perez here,” he said when his neighbour answered. “How’s it all going?”  
A gust of wind blew his hair into his eyes and salty spray from the angry sea sprinkled his face. No wonder the journey back from Fair Isle had been a nightmare.  
“The girls are having a grand old time,” Maggie said.  
He turned to look at Willow who was slouched in the passenger seat of his car, grey and miserable. She’d been violently seasick on the journey back from Fair Isle.  
“Does Cassie want to stay another night?” Maggie pulled him out of his thoughts.  
“No, I’ll pick her up in about half an hour. Could I speak to her for a moment please?” Jimmy asked as he watched the crew of the Good Shepherd load goods to be taken back to Fair Isle.  
“Sure, Jimmy, hold on,” Maggie said. In the background he could hear a girl’s voice and bleating sheep. He walked around the car and leaned down to look at Willow.  
“Better?” he mouthed at her. She gave him a faint smile which looked more like a painful grin.  
“Jimmy?” Cassie’s voice was clear and crisp. He was glad that nowadays, she didn’t expect the worst every time he rang.  
“How’s the sleepover going?” he asked. The sun broke through the dark looming clouds for a moment, blinding him. He shielded his eyes.  
“Good,” she said. “We're watching a movie. And we baked biscuits.”  
He listened to Cassie as she retold the past two days in an excited voice. He turned away from Willow and walked closer to the Good Shepherd to wave goodbye to his father. The boat was almost ready for its journey back to the Isle. Jimmy thought that the sea was too churned up and the swells too large to travel. But he’d never been much of a seafarer so he wasn’t in a position to make a good judgement call.  
“When are you picking me up?” Cassie asked suddenly. Her voice was still cheerful, but he picked up a slight undertone of worry in it.   
“We’ve just arrived at Grutness. It’ll be about half an hour from now.”  
“Good,” she said, then announced that she had to go because she didn’t want to miss the rest of the movie. When he turned to go back to his car, Willow was on the phone. A sudden gust of wind slammed the passenger door shut. Jimmy turned to watch the boat as it manoeuvred out of the jetty. He felt a sudden onset of loneliness, then shook his head in irritation. Willow was here, and soon he'd see Cassie again.  
“Everything alright?” he asked Willow when he got back into the car. You look exhausted, he thought, but stopped himself from saying it.  
“All good,” she said, now sitting very upright in her seat, her eyes half closed, one hand on her stomach.  
He thought that a different person was sitting next to him, not the woman who had spent the previous night with him. Heat rose into his face as he thought of her, glowing, teasing him with her kisses, the strands of her long hair tickling his chest.  
Feeling guilty that he should think of her like this when she was so miserable now, he started the car.  
Willow put her hand on his arm.  
“I’m staying at the B&B in town tonight, Jimmy. I just booked a room.”  
He turned his head and stared at her. She didn’t look at him but shut her eyes as if she couldn’t bear the sight of him. A feeling of dread washed over Jimmy. His heart skipped a beat, then raced ahead as if he were chasing a criminal. Had Willow changed her mind? Did she not want him in her life after all?  
He shook his head to shake off the gloomy thoughts and took a deep breath.  
“Why?” He tried to keep his voice light to hide his disappointment. “You can stay at my place.” She opened her eyes and reached for his hand.  
“Jimmy, I feel like shit. I was going to hang around Lerwick for a couple of hours, maybe visit Sandy, then come to Ravenswick." She swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a few seconds. “I wanted to give you and Cassie some time on your own."  
Jimmy opened his mouth to say that there was no need for her to stay away, but Willow didn’t give him a chance to speak.  
"I just want to lie down and sleep."  
"But…," he started.  
She turned to him. "Jimmy, please."  
The wind outside picked up again and rattled the car. Jimmy gripped the steering wheel, holding on to it for dear life, it felt.  
"Tomorrow, when I feel better, I'll see you and Cassie."  
He looked at her. Even now, in her exhaustion, she looked determined. There was no point trying to convince her.  
"Okay," he said, hurt and confused at the same time. He’d take her to Lerwick and drop her off. After all, he told himself, this would only be the first of many separations to come. It would take weeks, if not months, for him to arrange the move from Shetland to join Willow in Inverness, then move to Orkney with her and Cassie. "Why don’t I catch a cab into town?" she said. "Saves you driving all the way into Lerwick and back."  
Raindrops started to fall onto the windscreen in big splats. Within a few seconds, heavy rain pelted the roof of his car, making any further conversation near impossible. Clearly, Willow had already made up her mind about catching a cab so there was no point arguing with her.  
"Alright," he said. “Let’s drive to the airport. There’s bound to be a taxi there.”  
The rain was coming down so hard now he could hardly see the road ahead. Taking them safely to the airport required all of his concentration, something he was grateful for because he didn’t know what to say.  
When he pulled up at the taxi rank, Willow turned to him.  
“Who knows how Cassie will react about the news of the baby and moving away from Shetland. I don’t think it would be fair on her if I was there when you first tell her.”  
She was wrong. Of course Willow should be there. Cassie always liked listening to stories about Willow and Sandy joining him at the Ravenswick house to discuss a case late into the evening, when Cassie was asleep.  
But he also remembered how preoccupied Cassie had been with keeping Jimmy happy, not taking up the offer of a sleepover at a friend’s house because she didn’t want him to feel lonely after Fran’s death. How she’d never made any demands of him. She was bound to experience a range of emotions, but with Willow present, she’d feel obliged to be polite.  
Willow was right, of course. He'd long figured out that she was the most emotionally intelligent person he knew.  
“I just wished that you were feeling better,” he said.  
She smiled her faint smile again.  
“I’ll be fine, honestly, once I hit a pillow.”  
“Of course.” He pictured her asleep in a double bed, her long blonde hair tousled on a soft pillow. Now that he had finally found the courage to commit to her and their baby, the thought of her staying in Lerwick while he was in Ravenswick made him feel miserable.  
“We’ll talk tomorrow to see if it’s okay for me to come to Ravenswick,” she said as she opened the door.  
Now he was even more confused.  
“Of course you can come to Ravenswick.”  
She pulled the door shut again as a spray of rain settled on the dashboard. “Jimmy, don’t you see? If Cassie is upset or needs time to get used to this idea, the last thing she’ll want is to share you with me.”  
Would Cassie feel this way? He had no idea. The longer he thought about it, the more unsure he felt. What if Cassie refused to move to Orkney? What if he had got this all wrong and she would see the new baby as a threat?  
Willow turned to look at him. Some colour had returned to her face and the freckles on her nose were visible once again.  
“We’ll talk tomorrow,” she said, then pushed the door open. Jimmy got out of the car, fetched her holdall and followed her to a waiting cab.

***

The bed was swaying every time Willow shut her eyes. She tried lying on her side but that didn’t improve how she felt. Rosie had given her some ginger biscuits to nibble on but they hadn’t helped either.  
At least she wasn’t throwing up anymore. That had stopped as soon as she’d stepped on land after the awful journey from Fair Isle. She’d never felt so sick in her life before. James had said that it was the sideways swell that made her so sick. Now she understood what people meant when they claimed to be so seasick they’d rather die than go through it.  
She tried to focus on her breathing and listened to the sounds around her. The rain and wind had stopped as if someone had turned off a hose. Soft voices rose up the staircase, probably Rosie or John putting baby Michael to bed.  
She rolled onto her side and turned on the lights. Maybe it was too early to go to sleep. She switched on the small TV, trying to remember when she’d last watched TV. There was no telly in her flat in Inverness and growing up in the commune, there’d never been any TV, of course.  
A noisy game show with a host in a sparkly suit was on. He had large white teeth and a fake smile. She followed the show for a while, trying to guess the correct answers to the quiz questions before the contestants did. Most of the questions were about current trends in music, film and TV shows and Willow realised how little she knew about popular culture.  
Had Jimmy spoken to Cassie yet? She had been right to give Jimmy time on his own with Cassie. If the girl wasn’t anything but enthusiastic about the baby and the move to Orkney, Willow would struggle not to feel resentment.  
It was silly, of course. Cassie had every right to feel sad or unsure about their move away from Shetland. But Willow’s anxiety had more to do with her own insecurities. Cassie was Fran’s daughter. Fran, the love of Jimmy’s life. Sometimes it felt like a competition. Would Jimmy ever love her as much as he loved Fran? Did he love Cassie more than he loved Willow?  
She chided herself for these irrational thoughts. Of course he loved Cassie to bits. He had been her guardian for the last four years. He was ten times Cassie’s dad compared to Duncan Hunter who seemed to pick and choose the great things about being a dad, and leaving the difficult parts to Jimmy.  
Willow turned the TV off. The dumb game show did nothing to improve her mood, let alone her nausea. It was only just past nine o’clock and full daylight outside. Through the tilted window she could hear the sucking sound of tyres on the wet roads. She studied the bright clouds illuminated by the evening sunlight that was so unique to Shetland, nothing like where she grew up in North Uist.  
Willow thought of her parents and pictured them around the large table in the common room of the commune, surrounded by their elderly friends. The thought of them, old and frail, depressed her so much she reached for her phone and dialed their number.  
“Hello?” Her mother answered almost immediately. She sounded distracted.  
“Hey Lottie, it’s me,” Willow said. She wondered if her parents would allow their grandchild to call them Nana and Pop, or if they would insist on being called by their first names just like they had with Willow when she grew up.  
“Darling, it’s lovely to hear from you,” Lottie said. “How are you?” Her voice was full of warmth, vibrant, and Willow pictured her standing by the phone in a flowy dress, her long grey hair tied in a loose ponytail. The picture drove tears into Willow’s eyes. She wiped them away in irritation.  
“I'm good.” She had the urge to blurt out her news about the baby and Jimmy instead of waiting to tell her face-to-face. "I’m in Shetland at the moment."  
“Not another murder investigation, I hope?” Willow never shared much about her work, but somehow Lottie found out about every murder case her daughter investigated in Shetland.  
“No. Jimmy took me to Fair Isle, to show me where he’s from.”  
Lottie knew about Jimmy Perez, the detective from Shetland who lost his fiancee in a tragic murder case on Fair Isle. She knew that Willow had worked with him on many occasions over the years. Willow braced herself for a curious question, but Lottie didn’t seem to find anything unusual about the joint trip to Fair Isle.  
“Did you have a good time?”  
Willow thought about the rugged cliffs, the lush fields, the ever-present birdlife. “Yes, it’s a very beautiful place. We had a great time until the journey home on the boat.”  
“Was it a rough sailing?”  
Willow exhaled deeply. “I’ve never felt so sick in my life.” Even now, she felt the bed sway and her insides churn.  
“Oh Darling, you poor thing.”  
And for the very first time in years, if not decades, Willow yearned for her mother’s embrace, for her comfort and warmth. For so many years, she’d convinced herself that the need to see each other was one-sided. It had always been her parents nagging her to come home, making subtle comments that Willow didn't touch base often enough. But Willow had fooled herself. She needed to see them, especially Lottie, soon.  
“I thought I might come home for a long weekend in the next few weeks,” Willow said.  
“That would be lovely. You know there’s always a bed for you here.”  
“I’ll bring Jimmy with me,” she threw in quickly before she could change her mind. “And Cassie, if she wants to.”  
“Is that…?” Lottie searched her memory for the right name. “Jimmy’s fiancee's daughter?”  
“Fran,” Willow said quickly. “Yes, she’s Fran’s daughter, Jimmy’s stepdaughter.”  
Lottie was silent for a moment as if she had wanted to add another comment, then stopped herself from saying more.  
“Just let me know when you’re coming so I can make up enough beds.”  
Willow wondered if Lottie would make up three separate beds, or if she would automatically come to the conclusion that she and Jimmy were together now.  
“Is Peter there?” Willow never spoke to her father on the phone because he was never the one to answer it in the first place. But now, she had the sudden urge to hear his voice.  
“Sorry, he’s out in the garden, love,” Lottie said. “I’ll tell him that you’ll be visiting soon.”  
Willow pictured her father in the garden with his hoe, his straw hat and his chequered shirt.  
“Tell him I miss him,” Willow said. “I’ll see you both soon.”  
She turned off her phone and sank back into her pillow.

***

As usual after a couple of days apart, Cassie ran into Jimmy's arms when he picked her up. How many years will I have left to do this, he wondered as he lowered her back on the ground.  
Cassie craned her neck to see if someone else was waiting at the door.  
“Where’s Willow?” she asked as Jimmy quickly shut the door to keep the rain and wind out.  
“She’s staying at a B&B in Lerwick.” he said, keeping his voice as normal as possible.  
Cassie frowned.  
“Why?”  
Jimmy smiled at Maggie who had appeared in the corridor.  
“The journey on the Good Shepherd was really rough. She got very seasick.”  
Cassie opened her mouth to argue with him when Maggie spoke.  
“Poor thing! What a change in weather ! You wouldn’t think it’s summer, would ya?”  
“Aye, I’m glad we made it back before it gets worse,” Jimmy said. He pushed thoughts about his father on the Good Shepherd out of his mind.  
“Do you want to come in for a cuppa tea?” Maggie asked.  
Jimmy picked up Cassie’s bag and smiled at her.  
“I’m sorry, Maggie. I want to get Cassie home and give her an early night.”  
Maggie smiled at him. "No problem, Jimmy." Jimmy was glad that Maggie had stopped feeling offended a long time ago when he politely refused to come in for a cup of tea. She'd known him long enough to understand that he wasn't being rude, but often exhausted from work and keen to get Cassie to bed. When the girl was strapped in her seat, and Jimmy drove off, Cassie said, “We could’ve looked after Willow at home, couldn’t we?”  
In her voice he heard a faint doubt. She was thinking that maybe Willow didn’t want to come to Ravenswick because she didn’t like Cassie’s company.  
“Of course. And I told her that she could stay with us. But Willow wanted us to have some time to ourselves tonight.”  
Cassie’s reply came instantly. “Why?”  
Jimmy looked into his rear mirror and made brief eye contact with Cassie.  
“I have some news to tell you. I think it’s best if we wait 'til we’re at home, and I can explain it all.”  
That was enough for now. Cassie knew that he would keep his promise and tell her, so there was no need for her to pester him for now.  
Later, after Cassie’s bath, they sat together in the small lounge, Cassie dressed in her pyjamas, and Jimmy beside her with a cup of coffee.  
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Her voice was clear, matter of fact.  
Jimmy opened his mouth, then stopped. How could he find the right words? Be honest. Just say it how it is.  
“You know that Willow and I have worked together for a few years now, right?”  
“Yes.”  
“We’ve always been good colleagues, then we’ve become friends.” He paused, took a sip of coffee, then looked at her.  
“The thing is, Cassie, Willow and I are more than friends now.”  
Cassie took a moment to understand. She looked up at him, her eyes bright and clear.  
“You mean, you’re like a couple?”  
Jimmy nodded.  
“Like you and Mum?”  
The comment took his breath away, but he soon realised that in Cassie’s eyes it would seem normal for adults to fall in love with someone else.  
“A little bit.” He felt the need to explain himself. “When your mum died, I never thought I’d ever meet another woman. I didn’t want to because I loved your mum so much."   
Cassie’s round eyes widened. She was wise beyond her years and he knew that nothing he said was any news to her. "I still love her very much.” He paused, looking up at Cassie, thinking that he had never talked so openly about his feelings for Fran. “But over the years, I have become very fond of Willow.”  
“That’s good, isn’t it? I mean, you can’t stay on your own for the rest of your life, can you? It wasn’t your fault that Mum died.” Another breath-taking, matter-of-fact comment from his stepdaughter. As if there had never been any question about who was to blame for her mother’s death.  
Jimmy blinked. He hoped that Cassie would never know how much guilt he’d carried over the years about Fran’s death. It was a self-destructive, wasted emotion that had held him back far too long.  
“That’s what I thought, too,” he said.  
“Are you and Willow going to get married?” Cassie wanted to know.  
Jimmy took the last sip of coffee and put the empty cup down on the floor. He hadn't even had time to consider this question.   
“Not at the moment. But…” He turned to look into Cassie’s eyes. “We’re going to have a baby. Willow is pregnant. You’re going to be a sister, Cassie.”  
Her face was blank for a brief moment, then a wide smile crossed her face.  
“A sister!”  
Jimmy pulled her into his side and kissed her on the head.  
“Yes, a big sister. Imagine that!”  
“When will the baby be born?” she asked.  
“In October.”  
“But that’s ages away!”  
He smiled. “Babies take a long time to grow before they are born. You’ll have to be patient.”  
Cassie jumped up from the sofa, her face beaming with excitement. She did a little dance across the lounge, then stopped in front of Jimmy. “So is Willow going to move in with us?”  
Jimmy took a deep breath.  
“That’s the other news I wanted to share with you. You and I, we’re going to move to Orkney to live with Willow, Cassie.”  
Cassie frowned, then blinked her eyes like she always did when she was confused or anxious.  
“But why?”  
He’d been thinking about that for a long time. It was about a fresh start, moving on from Fran and showing Willow that he was committed to her and their baby.  
“Willow has a new job in Orkney, a very important one, once her maternity leave is over.”  
“But you have an important job, too,” Cassie said.  
“I do. But Willow’s job is bigger, across all of the Scottish islands. It’s important that she can do that job from Orkney.”  
That explanation seemed to work for Cassie, in theory at last. But when she realised what it would mean for her and her school, she visibly shrank in front of his eyes.  
“But that means we’ll move away from Ravenswick. I’ll need to find a new school. I’ll have to make new friends.”  
Jimmy reached for her hand, but she pulled back.  
“You’re right. These will be big changes for you. And some of it will be hard, and some of it will be easy. But remember, you won’t be on your own.”  
She looked at him as if she didn’t believe him.  
“We’ll visit Orkney and look around at schools. Before we move, we'll choose a school for you so you know exactly where you’ll be going.”  
“But what about the school play?”  
Jimmy smiled. Trust Cassie to have her priorities right. She’d always been so conscientious. Never wanted to let her teachers or him down.  
“We haven’t decided on a time to move yet, Cassie. We can work this out later.”  
She looked at him for a little longer, and suddenly seemed a lot younger.  
“I’m really tired,” she said, climbed onto his lap and curled herself into his chest.  
Jimmy inhaled and hesitated a moment before putting his hands on her back. She hadn’t sat on his lap like this for over a year.  
“It’s a lot to take in, Cassie. It’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed.”  
She didn’t respond. Jimmy tightened his hold around her body. He would do anything to protect her from harm. They sat in silence for a long time, then Cassie whispered, “Can you take me to bed?”  
He carried her to her bedroom, something else she hadn’t allowed him to do for months.  
“Do you want me to read you a story?” he asked as he tucked her in under the blankets and kissed her on her forehead.  
She shook her head.  
“I just want to go to sleep.”  
“Of course,” he said and stroked her hair out of her face. He turned the lights off and sat beside her for a little longer. Outside, all signs of the storm had passed. Only the sound of bleating sheep could be heard in the distance.  
Just when Jimmy thought she’d fallen asleep, she asked, “Is it a boy or a girl?”

***

Willow woke early to bright sunshine flooding the room through the large window. She loved this space with its lightness, its soft furnishing and the views down into the lanes of Lerwick. It felt a little bit like her home on Shetland now, a sanctuary from work, usually. Not this time, though. She hadn’t thought about work at all over the last three days.  
After her morning yoga, she got dressed, full of energy. No sign of seasickness any more.  
On her phone, she found a text message from Jimmy, sent the previous night.  
Hope you’re feeling better. Cassie tired but good x  
She started typing a message back, then put her phone down on the bedside table. An idea formed in her head. After breakfast, she’d catch the bus to Ravenswick and surprise Jimmy and Cassie. By the sound of Jimmy’s text from the previous night, she would be fine to visit today. She grabbed her wallet and a light jacket and pulled the door to the bedroom shut behind her.  
Downstairs, everything was quiet, as if nobody was home. She hesitated, wondering if she should call out or help herself to breakfast, but she was full of energy, keen to make the most of this beautiful sunny day. On a whim, she left the B&B, wandered down the lanes of Lerwick to a local cafe where she ordered herbal tea in a biodegradable cup and a few buns in a paper bag. She found the bus stop and sat down to wait for the next bus to Ravenswick.

***

The bedroom he had once shared with Fran was filled with light streaming in through the half-shut blinds. Jimmy Perez sat up briskly, straining his ears to listen for Cassie pottering around the house, convinced that he had slept in.  
When he reached for his watch, it was only just after six o’clock. He felt like he’d been asleep for a day and a night and was surprised that it was so early in the morning.  
After Cassie had fallen asleep the night before, he’d sent a brief message to Willow. He’d hoped that she would answer him, but accepted that she would have gone to sleep early.  
In the kitchen, he made coffee for himself and turned the radio on to listen to the shipping forecast. The storm over Fair Isle had passed and another stretch of unusually settled weather was forecast.  
When it was time to wake up Cassie for school, he stepped into her bedroom and opened the black out curtains.  
“Jimmy?” Cassie was already out of her bed, bouncing on her toes, clutching the much-loved rabbit soft-toy with the missing eye in her arm.  
“Cassie,” he said, smiling at her exuberance. Normally, it took her at least twenty minutes to get out of bed.  
“Can I tell the kids at school about the baby and Willow?” Jimmy followed her into the kitchen where she helped herself to a glass of cold milk from the fridge. In winter, Jimmy would make a hot chocolate for her, but now, she preferred her drink cold.  
“Not yet, sweetie.”  
“Tomorrow?”  
Jimmy felt uneasy. This was all so new he wanted to keep the news to himself for a little longer, even just to savour the knowledge about the new family he was going to start with Willow and Cassie. But he had hardly been able to keep the news to himself when he saw his parents. It would be unfair to expect Cassie to sit on this secret for any length of time.  
“Let me think about it today, okay? I haven’t told anyone at work so I need to think about that too.”  
Cassie looked disappointed. “I really wanted to talk about it with someone though,” she said. “It’s not much fun if I can’t share the news.”  
“How about calling Mary and James? You can talk about it with them.”  
Her eyes brightened. She reached for the toast he’d buttered for her and started eating.  
“After breakfast, I will.”  
Cassie was full of enthusiasm when she phoned Mary. Jimmy didn’t listen in on all of their conversation but he picked up snippets here or there.  
“Do you think it’s going to be a boy or a girl?” he heard her ask Mary.  
“I’d rather have a brother,” she said, then two minutes later changed her mind. “Actually, a sister would be cool too.”  
“Do you think I can help choose a name?”  
Poor Mary! Her ears would be falling off by the time the phone call with Cassie ended.  
When it was time for school, he watched her make her way down to the neighbour to pick up her friend. Together, they walked down to the school. Jimmy only turned away when he saw them safely arrive in the playground.  
It was a beautiful sunny day with a blue sky and a gentle breeze. He wasn’t on shift today and was looking forward to spending the time with Willow. She hadn’t replied to his message from the previous night and he hoped she was feeling better. He cleaned up the breakfast dishes, drank another coffee while reading the newspaper and hung the laundry on the washing line outside.  
When Willow didn’t answer her phone, he decided to drive into Lerwick and surprise her at the Sheriff House.  
“Hello?” he called as he stepped through the open door of the B&B. John was serving breakfast to an elderly couple, and Rosie sat beside them with baby Michael on her lap. Missing from the picture was Willow.  
“Jimmy!” Michael said, his hand stretched out in a greeting, “Are you looking for the lovely Willow Reeves?”  
“Is she up yet?” he joked, knowing full well that Willow never slept in.  
“I’m afraid you’ve missed her,” Rosie said. “She left really early this morning.”  
This was unexpected, but Jimmy tried to hide his confusion.  
“Will you take a coffee with us?” Michael asked. Jimmy didn’t feel like sitting down with strangers, making polite conversation instead of spending time with Willow.  
“Did she check out already?” he asked, avoiding to commit to the offer of coffee.  
Rosie shook her head.  
“No, she didn’t check out. Her bag is still in the room. And, I’m afraid to say, her mobile phone.”  
Jimmy tried to remember when her flight home was. He was sure it wasn’t for another couple of days. And if she’d left her belongings behind, that meant she would be back soon.  
He tried to quell his unease and accepted the offer of a coffee after all. He sat down beside Rosie and looked at baby Michael who had grown a lot since he last saw him as a newborn.  
“How’s he going?” he asked, glad to focus on the baby instead of having to make conversation with the tourists. He wondered if Willow had told Rosie about her pregnancy, or whether Rosie had noticed the growing baby bump.  
“Brilliant,” she said and beamed at him. “That is, when he’s not crying.” Underneath her exuberance, Jimmy could see her exhaustion: the sagging skin, the heavy eyelids, the lacklustre hair.  
While listening to John who gave sightseeing advice to the tourists, Jimmy’s brain raced through all the possibilities why Willow wasn’t here. The most likely scenario was that Willow had popped out for an early morning walk or to get fresh bread, and bumped into someone. She was probably sitting in a cafe nearby, unaware that he was looking for her.  
What else could the reason for her early departure be?  
It came to him as he thought of his day off, a day spent with her instead of his work colleagues. Of course! She would have called into the police station, knowing that Sandy was on the early shift. Maybe she hadn’t been able to get back to sleep and decided to pay him a visit.  
Jimmy excused himself and walked the few hundred metres to the police station, half expecting Willow to come out of the door at any moment.  
But as soon as he saw Sandy’s surprised look on his face, he knew that Willow wasn’t there.  
“Boss?” he said, puzzled to see him. “I thought you were off today?”  
“I am,” Jimmy said. He took Sandy by the elbow and lead him into his office. He didn’t want others to know about Willow just yet, but he needed to get Sandy up to speed.  
“Have you seen Willow?”  
Sandy looked even more surprised. “Has there been a murder?” he asked, and Jimmy could see the old schoolboy underneath once again, worried that he’d missed something and would disappoint him.  
He shook his head to put him at ease. “No, she’s here on…,” He tried to think of the best way to tell Sandy. “She’s here on a private matter.”  
Sandy’s confusion didn’t lift so Jimmy had to spell it out.  
“I tool Willow to Fair Isle. She's staying at the Sheriff House. But she left early this morning and I thought she might’ve called in to see you here.”  
Jimmy could see Sandy’s brain ticking over. He wanted to know why Jimmy had taken Willow to Fair Isle. He wanted to confirm his suspicion that they were an item. But he was also still wary of his bosses' moods which, in the past, had been erratic, volatile.  
“She hasn’t showed up here,” Sandy said. “Do you think she’s on her way to the airport?”  
Jimmy couldn’t imagine Willow leaving her belongings behind, leaving him behind without saying a word. But he couldn’t discount it completely.  
“I don’t think so,” he said.  
Suddenly, his office felt claustrophobic. The anxiety he used to have after Fran had died returned, a loss of control that left him momentarily unable to move.  
Sandy was watching him closely, worried that the unpredictable, angry Jimmy from the last few years was back.  
“She might have returned to the B&B by now,” Sandy suggested. “Do you want me to ring them?”  
Jimmy shook his head. “No, I’ll walk back.” He needed to get out of this stifling office where there was no fresh air.  
Sandy followed him to the front door. “Let me know if you need my help,” he said as Jimmy stepped down the large footsteps.  
“Sandy?” he called when he’d almost shut the door behind him.  
“Boss?”  
Jimmy looked at the younger man, thinking that he, of all people, deserved to hear first.  
“Willow is pregnant.”  
A mix of expressions ran across Sandy’s face: surprise, confusion, delight, but one thing was clear: he knew straight away that Jimmy Perez was the father.

***

Willow boarded the near-empty bus with a handful of other passengers. She was traveling in the opposite direction to most people who commuted into town for work or school. She’d finished her tea and buns at the bus stop and only carried her small purse which was tucked into the pocket of her light jacket. She’d tied it around her waist while sitting in a sunny spot at the bus shelter.  
The day was going to be stunning, judging by the blue skies and the still air. She looked out of the window as they drove through the streets of Lerwick, picking up and dropping off passengers here and there. Soon they left the built up area behind and traveled along the road that was so familiar to her by now. As she scanned the low horizon and the sparkling waters in the distance, she wondered if she could make this her home. Would she be able to live here with Jimmy and Cassie and their new baby? Should she have waited with her decision to agree to the new job in Kirkwall until she’d had a chance to discuss it with Jimmy?  
But then she remembered the bitter disappointment with Jimmy’s reaction to the news of the baby. How he’d refused to talk about it, how hopeless she'd felt until she’d realised that she didn’t need Jimmy Perez in her life to bring up a child.  
That was the reason for her decision to accept the job in Orkney. If Jimmy had been more welcoming to the news of the baby, she would of course have included him in the decision-making process.  
The bus jerked suddenly, nearly throwing Willow off her seat. There was a whining sound from the engine, followed by a shuddering motion, then a sudden stop.  
“Sorry,” the driver called over his shoulder. “Won’t be long,” he said as he stepped off the bus and went around to the front. Willow glanced at the other passengers who gave her a bemused look. Maybe this happened often, for they didn’t appear to be concerned.  
Smoke billowed out from the engine and the driver poked his head through the door.  
“You’d better disembark,” he said. “Health and safety and all that.”  
So the handful of passengers exited and stood a few metres away on the side of the road.  
Willow’s eyes followed the road until she could see Ravenswick in the distance. It wouldn’t be too far to walk, she decided. She spotted a walking trail further below, leading in the same direction as the road.  
They waited for ten minutes until the bus driver informed them that a replacement bus was on the way.  
“I’ll walk,” Willow said to the group of waiting people. She wasn’t sure the driver had heard her, but it didn’t matter. It was a beautiful sunny day and she had time on her hands.  
She set off on the walkway, relieved to be out of the bus and in the open air. The breeze was light, almost warm, and she could feel the warmth of the sun on her skin. 

***

Jimmy Perez walked through the lanes of Lerwick, trying to stifle the gripping fear that had taken over his body. Willow hadn’t been at the Sheriff House when he went back there, and now, he didn’t know what to do next. There was no rational reason for his anxiety: Willow was an independent woman, and a very capable chief inspector. She had dealt with so many dangerous situations on her own that surely, whatever the reason for her absence was, it wouldn’t be anywhere near the danger she had faced as senior investigating officer.  
Still, even as he marveled at the warmth of the sun and the bright blue sky, he couldn't push away his feelings of dread. Was paranoia once again taking over his thoughts? He remembered the days when he couldn’t leave Cassie out of sight even for the briefest moment, paralysed by fear that he would lose her too if he didn’t keep a constant eye on her.  
Before he knew it, he had reached his old house in Lerwick. He thought of it as an old friend, always there ever since he returned to Shetland after his failed marriage.  
The air inside was stale and damp. As always, Jimmy opened all the windows, checked the rooms and made himself a strong coffee. He sat by the open window, looking out onto the water, and reined in his thoughts. Willow had been gone for a couple of hours in a town full of people. There would be a perfectly plausible reason for her absence. And if she was hurt or injured, she would turn up at a doctor’s surgery or the hospital.  
He would give it another couple of hours before taking any further measures.  
But it was Sandy who brought this timeframe forward. Jimmy had moved around the house to dust the surfaces and give the bathroom a quick clean. He was about to start on the cutlery drawer in the kitchen when his phone rang.  
“Sandy?”  
“So,” Sandy started, a little hesitant. His old insecurities about wanting to impress Jimmy. “I made some inquiries. She’s not at the Sheriff House. I just spoke to Michael. And there is no one fitting her description at the hospital.”  
Jimmy felt relieved and disappointed at the same time.  
“Do you think she might be at your house in Ravenswick?” Sandy asked. “Maybe she got a lift with someone?”  
“Wouldn’t she try to call me from the landline if she was there?”  
“Maybe. But would she know your mobile number? Most people these days don’t know each other’s numbers off by heart because they’re stored on their phones.”  
He didn’t answer, but thought that Sandy was right.  
“Let me know if you hear anything,” Jimmy said. “But keep it low-profile, right? Willow would be furious if she finds out that we got the guys from work involved.”  
Jimmy looked at the open cutlery drawer and the damp sponge in front of him. He couldn’t face this cleaning job now. He rang Willow’s number once again, leaving a message to say that he was now going back to his house in Ravenswick.  
Jimmy was almost annoyed with the startling day and the picture-perfect sky with only a tiny speck of a cloud on the horizon. The weather didn’t match his mood, but it was irrational to wish for rain and wind and storm clouds. Wherever Willow was, she would be better off being warm and dry than out in the cold.  
On the road to Ravenswick he was so focused on getting home quickly, he hardly noticed the Lerwick bus parked on the side of the road, empty.

***

Willow felt the heat of the sun on her face and cursed the fact that she didn’t bring a water bottle. Her cheeks were burning and for once, she wished she had applied sunscreen before heading out.  
The walking track she was following had turned into a barely visible path over heather, hidden rocks and old peat cuttings. Ravenswick still looked quite far away in the distance. Should she turn around and go back to the road?  
She looked back the way she had come and knew straight away that it was too far to go back. She would just grit her teeth and carry on.  
Thinking of Jimmy, she walked on, slower than before, with a dry throat and the start of a pounding headache. She pictured him at home, sitting outside his house on the wooden bench with a cup of coffee beside him. Would he spot her walking up the trail from the distance and come down to meet her half way up the hill? She hoped he would because she felt a little dizzy. A few metres ahead, she spotted a flat rock in the heather a little way off the trail. She’d take a little break and sit down for a while.  
But when she sat down, she felt a little disorientated. How stupid of her to set off like this, completely underestimating the time and effort it would take to walk to Ravenswick with no water and no food.  
She chided herself, embarrassed and furious for making such a pea-brained decision without thinking through the consequences. At least the weather was nice, even though the constant breeze added to her dehydration.  
She glanced up at the fields behind her. There was a stonewall to climb over, but once past that, it looked like she could cut through the empty paddock, back up to the road. It would be faster than sticking to her current path. There was one part that looked a little steep, but if she took her time, she could be back on the road in fifteen minutes, she estimated.  
Half-way up that way, she regretted her decision. Flashes of light were interfering with her vision. Her legs felt like lead and her muscles had lost all of their strength.  
For the first time, she was getting worried. Not about herself, but about her baby. How could she have been so selfish? It was one thing to push yourself beyond your limits, but to threaten the health of her baby was another.  
She weighed up what was more likely to happen: for her to make it to the road and to hitch a ride, or for her to sit out here and wait until someone would find her. She decided to keep going.  
The road was almost within reach now. Twenty metres to go. She climbed over a particularly bristly heather bush, scratching her legs through her pants. A hidden rock under a branch made her slip. She fell heavily onto her side, her foot trapped by the rock. She howled in pain as something in her ankle gave way. Lying in the soft heather bed, she sniffed and looked up into the cloudless sky, wondering if it had always been so blue. Then she lost consciousness.

***

Sandy Wilson couldn’t concentrate on the case notes in front of him. All he could think of was Jimmy Perez and the look on his face when he’d told him that Willow was missing.  
He’d tried to hide his worries but Sandy knew him well enough to see past his efforts to remain calm.  
Jimmy and Willow. Who would have thought? And yet, he wasn’t surprised. It felt like the most logical thing to happen after all the years working together. He remembered the conversation with Willow in the car at Sullom Voe as if it had happened yesterday.  
“So, what’s he like, this Jimmy Perez?” she'd asked him. Of course she knew all about Fran and the tragic business on Fair Isle. Over the years, Sandy had watched Willow and Jimmy work together, two colleagues with a tremendous respect for each other earned the hard way over months: Jimmy with his volatile moods and Willow determined to make her mark on her first murder investigation as Chief Inspector, not willing to let the more experienced detective guide her. When Jimmy had saved Willow from being buried alive in a ditch not far from his own home, Sandy thought that something had changed between the two of them.  
Sandy reached for the phone to ring the Sheriff House once again, then made some private inquiries through a friend of a friend who was a nurse at the health centre. When that didn’t yield any results, he decided it was time to involve the team.  
Most of them were on their lunch break which meant that he could casually throw in a question without making it an official inquiry,  
He went to the lunchroom and made himself a cup of tea. The female DS with the bright red hair, the two new constables and the liaison officer sat around the table in the dim room. Sandy joined them at the table.  
“Have any of you seen Willow Reeves on your patrols today?” he asked, trying to sound casual. His plan backfired. They weren’t stupid.  
“Why would the Chief Inspector be here?” the DS asked. Sandy hesitated, then decided that it was more important to find her than to spare Jimmy’s feelings.  
“She was visiting Jimmy. She’s gone missing from the Sheriff House.”  
The comment hung in the room, but nobody asked why she was visiting him.  
“Didn’t she stay with him?” the younger of the two constables asked.  
The DS lifted her eyes and chuckled. The liaison officer grinned. It appeared that Sandy wasn’t the only one who had suspected something between the two of them. It was hard to miss, really. Especially when Jimmy suddenly had gone all toxic on Willow during the inquiry about Emma Shearer and the autistic boy. Why would he have treated her with such disdain if there hadn’t been an underlying attraction, followed by a rejection? Maybe she had rebuffed him, and his coldness had been his only way to cope with it.  
“Oh no,” the DS said. “Nobody will ever be allowed near Cassie. Nobody will ever live up to Fran. Especially not a woman like Willow.”  
Sandy turned his head and stared the woman down. ““Do you mind?" He didn’t like the way she talked about Jimmy. "This is serious.”  
“Should we start a search?” the young constable asked, keen to get some action into an otherwise boring day.  
Sandy shook his head. “No, Jimmy won’t have it. He doesn’t know I’ve asked you lot, so keep it quiet. Make some inquiries but keep it low. Let me know immediately if you hear anything.”

***

The house at Ravenswick was quiet. There was no sign of Willow, as Jimmy had expected right along. What now?  
He’d have to get his colleagues involved. Willow would just have to swallow her pride and put up with the inevitable banter that would follow once the confusion about her disappearance was cleared up.  
Had she been abducted? A disgruntled associate of a criminal they’d locked away could have chosen to seek revenge. He couldn’t bear the thought. But wouldn’t there be a ransom note or some other form of communication by now? Against all common sense, he almost wished for something like that just to get some answers.  
He picked up the phone to ring Sandy, but it went straight to voicemail.  
“Call me when you get this,” he said. “I think we need to get a search started.”  
He could easily call the station and set things in motion himself, but he wanted Sandy to take charge. He needed to keep a buffer of privacy between himself and his colleagues and didn’t want to deal with anyone else but Sandy.

***

Sandy was about to go for a drive around town when the young constable popped his head in.  
“There’s a bus broken down on the way to Ravenswick. Don’t know if this is any useful information, but I thought you might want to know.”  
It didn't seem important. What could Willow’s disappearance have to do with a broken down bus. Yet, a gut feeling drove him out of the office.  
“Thanks,” he said to the constable who looked desperate to get out of the station for some action. “I’ll go and check it out.” When the constable reached for his jacket, he directed him back to his desk. “Not you. I need you to stay here to answer any incoming calls. Stay put.”  
Sandy remembered when he was inexperienced but keen like him, always following Jimmy on his outings like a puppy dog. It must have driven Jimmy to distraction at times.  
The drive up Ravenswick road didn’t take long. He pulled over where the bus was parked. A mechanic was bent over the engine under the hood of the bus, waving a spanner while talking to another man beside him.  
“Did you drive this bus this morning?” Sandy asked. There was no need for introductions because they knew each other in the way that many people knew each other in Shetland - by osmosis, it seemed.  
“Aye, it’s a bloody nuisance, that one. I wish they’d replace it.”  
“We’re looking for a missing woman. Willow Reeves. Long wild hair, blonde,” he said as he moved his hands around his head to support his point. “Tall. Freckles on her face. Have you seen her?”  
The man looked up.  
“She was on the bus when it broke down.”  
Sandy waited for the man to continue, but he directed his attention back to the engine.  
“Where did all the passengers go?” Sandy asked.  
“They were picked up by the replacement bus which carried on the normal route.”  
“Did you see her get on that bus?”  
The man hesitated. “I don't think she did.” He scratched his head and looked into the distance. “She walked. That’s right, she walked.”  
Sandy lifted his eyes and followed the trail below the road, hoping to spot a person walking or sitting. But all he could see was brown and green heather, peat bogs and the odd wildflower.  
“Did she say where she was going?”  
“No.”  
Sandy reached for his phone. He’d get a search party organised. But first he wanted to spend a few minutes looking down from the vantage point of the road. He wanted to be the person to find Willow for Jimmy. 

***

Willow blinked and lifted her hands to shield her eyes. Her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool. She pushed herself into a more upright position. Her head pounded and as she tried to shift her foot, she nearly passed out again from the pain in her ankle.  
There was no hope of walking any further now. She would have to wait for someone to find her, half-way between the road and the walking trail where nobody would expect to find a person.  
She hadn’t told anyone about her plans. Jimmy might not even be expecting her yet. He knew that she liked her independence and didn’t expect her to be checking in with him every five minutes.  
Luckily there would be daylight until midnight, at least. The weather looked good, although she wished that the sun wasn’t so intense. For the millionth time today, she wished she had brought her phone and something to drink.  
Her jacket would be the one thing that would stand out in this typical Shetland pattern of greens and browns. She untied the sleeves around her waist, contorted herself as much as she could to roll off the jacket and spread it out over the heather. Maybe the orange would stand out enough for someone to see her. She wasn’t far from the road and it was the only thing she could do to help herself.  
She settled into her position, using her years of yoga practise to calm the increasing anxiety about her predicament. Making her muscles relax and her mind free of worries was near impossible, but the breathing exercises helped to stave off a full-blown panic attack.

***

Sandy walked along the road to Ravenswick, keeping his eyes on the walking track in the distance. With time, the trail narrowed, then turned into a faint line over the peat banks and fields. He strained his eyes to spot anything unusual in colour, shape or size, but there was nothing. He wished he’d brought his binoculars to improve his chance of finding her.  
The sun was high in the sky and hot. Sandy took his jersey off and left it on the side of the road. His eyes scanned the horizon, resting from the concentrated effort to search for Willow. Really, the idea of finding Willow, of returning her to Jimmy and gaining his bosses’ admiration for it, was silly. While he was trying to score brownie points here, a proper search party could be organised. He turned around to pick up his jersey when something orange caught his eye. He took a closer look, and sure enough, not even thirty metres from him, he spotted a head full of blond hair next to her orange jacket.  
“Willow!” he called as he tried to find the best way to get down to her. She didn’t react. Panic gripped Sandy as he carefully lowered himself down the bank and over a few boulders of rock until he was in amongst the heather. He prayed that she was alive because Jimmy Perez would not survive losing another lover.  
“Willow!”  
This time there was a small movement of her arm. Sandy climbed over the bushes, his eyes on Willow, his hand on the phone in his pocket.  
“Are you okay?” Sandy asked as he crouched down beside her. Her face was red with sunburn, her lips dry and cracked. He knew straight away that she needed an ambulance. She managed to smile.  
“Sandy Wilson, you’re a bloody genius,” she said, her voice croaky and hoarse.  
He made no comment about her state and reached for his phone. “We’ll get you out of here in no time,” he said. She watched him dial nine-nine-nine. Even in this state, Willow was fierce.  
“I don’t need an ambulance,” she said. “Just some ice on my ankle. Take me to Jimmy’s.”  
From experience, Sandy knew it was best not to argue but to quietly keep going. Willow was too exhausted to argue with him anyway.  
Once he’d rung emergency services, he rang Jimmy.  
“Do you want to speak to him?” he mouthed at Willow, but she just closed her eyes and sank back into the heather.  
“Yes?” Jimmy answered on the first ring.  
“I found her,” Sandy said. “I found Willow. She’s okay.”  
There was a long pause. Sandy pictured Jimmy taking in the news, overwhelmed by relief.  
“Where?” he finally asked.  
“About two kilometres down the road from you, not far from the road.” Sandy looked at Willow who despite the sunburnt cheeks, looked pale.  
“I’ve called an ambulance.”  
He could hear keys rattling, a door being shut. “I’ll be down in two minutes,” Jimmy said.  
“Bring some water,” Sandy quickly said, but he wasn’t sure if Jimmy had heard.  
Sandy settled down next to Willow. He made a little pillow with her jacket and lifted her head so she looked a bit more comfortable.  
“Jimmy’s on his way,” he said. Willow didn’t respond but lay with her eyes closed, her hands on her stomach. Sandy talked about a case at work to keep her distracted.  
Barely five minutes later, he spotted the dark-haired detective stumbling down the bank with no safety concerns for himself. He must have sped down the Ravenswick road at record speed. Sandy watched as he loped over rocks, almost skipped over the heather bushes and reached Willow in record-time.  
Sandy made brief eye-contact with her, then stood back as Jimmy kneeled beside her, taking her hand into his.  
“Willow,” he said quietly. He lifted his hand to push the tangled hair out of her face. She opened her eyes and managed to pull her lips into a grin.  
“Are you hurt?”  
She cast her eyes on her foot.  
“Your ankle?”  
She looked at him and whispered something that Sandy couldn’t hear. Jimmy reached for his water bottle and lifted it to her lips. She drank greedily, almost emptying the entire bottle. Sandy wanted to tell Jimmy not to let her drink too much in case she needed surgery, but he kept his mouth shut.  
“The ambulance shouldn’t be far off,” Sandy said just to keep the conversation going. “I’ll go up the road in a minute, to guide them.”  
He wondered how they would manage to get a stretcher down here, then thought that he’d seen more challenging rescues than that.  
Willow perked up a little. Jimmy propped her up so that she could lean against him.  
“Where have you been?” Jimmy said. There was no accusation in his voice.  
“On the bus to visit you. It broke down and I decided to walk. Guess that was a stupid idea.”  
“Why didn’t you call me?”  
“It was meant to be a surprise for you.”  
“A surprise alright,” Jimmy said. He leaned his head against her and closed his eyes. His words were very quiet but Sandy could still hear him.  
“I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”  
Jimmy Perez, the stoic detective from Fair Isle, looked like he was going to cry, and Sandy turned around and walked away to give his boss some privacy. As much as he had wished for Jimmy to open up about his grief of losing Fran, Sandy preferred him as the private man he knew him to be.   
Soon after, he heard the ambulance in the distance. He returned to walk towards Willow and Jimmy who were still sitting together, his hand intertwined with hers, her head resting against his chin.  
“Jimmy,” he was about to say when he noticed the red stain between Willow’s legs. He lifted his eyes towards Jimmy who hadn’t noticed it yet. Willow’s eyes were closed and it looked as if she were sleeping.  
Sandy gestured at Jimmy, not wanting to disconcert Willow even more. She would find out soon enough, maybe felt it even now but didn’t want to acknowledge what was happening.  
But when he saw Jimmy’s look he almost wished that he’d kept this knowledge to himself and let him savour a few more minutes of ignorance.  
When he spotted the first responder climbing down the bank, he met him half-way.  
“She’s bleeding,” he said to the man he knew well from previous emergencies.  
“Any visible injuries?” he asked.  
Sandy glanced over to the pair sitting in what looked like a very peaceful moment.  
“She’s pregnant,” he said. "And she's bleeding."   
The man raised his eyebrows, turned to look up at the steep bank and radioed his colleague.  
“Call the rescue helicopter,” he said.


End file.
